Current-regulating plug and pull-socket



A. PAPINI.

CURRENT nEGuLATmG PLUG AND PULL socKEI. APPLICAHON FILED AUG. I5. l9l9.

1,335,017. rammed Mur. 30, 1920.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

4ANTONIO PAPINI, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIoNon. TO A. MECKY COMPANY, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION or PENN- SYLVANIA4 CURRENT-REGULATING- PLUG AND PULL-SOCKET.

tric regulators or rheostats, for use' in connection with electric circuits'designed both for lighting purposes and in connection with medical batteries or other devices, including dynamos and motors, to which electrical current is supplied and caused to pass through a resistance material such, for ini stance, as powdered carbon, or a composite resistance material composed of carbon as a. conductor and of mineral wool or spun glass both comminuted or reduced to pow der and mixed together andy then com-' mingled with the carbon, so as to form a f more or less elastic material adapted to be compressed to increase lts conductivity, or-

' loosened to increase its resistance, in order to increase or diminish theforce or strength of the current passed tlirongh it, so as to regulate the brilliancy of the light or the potency of the battery or device to which the current is applied.

The object of my invention is the construction of a regulator in which the control of the resistance material, of whatever character it may be, by the movement of a piston carrying the lower contactpoint and controlled to up and down movement to bring its contact point up to or away from the upper contact point by the employment, broadly expressed, of a threaded piston rod actuatedto rotate hy the action of a rotary wheel operated from the exterior of the' casing, and in which the meanslemployed for effecting such rotation extend exteriorlyr of the casing and are adapted to beV manually operated.

Vitli the foregoing object in View my invention compreliends means for introducing Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar. 30, 1920.

Application led August 15, 1919. S'elial N0. 317,825.

conductors into the outer shell of the device and for retaining them in introduced position by supporting and retaining means hereinafter described;v

My'irivention further consists in a special mounting of the piston rod relatively to the lower contactl point, and means Vfor occasioning the control movement of said piston rod and contact point.

'Other features yof my invention are illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter described.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the vaccoriipaiiying drawings one forni thereof which is at pres ent preferred by me, since the same will be found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, althoiigh'it is to be understood that the various iiistriimentalities of `which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organiz/.ed and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described. Y

In the drawings,

Figure l represents a central, vertical, sectional elevation of 'a regulator embodying iny invention; f

Fig. 2 represents a sideelevation of a hollow spring nut adapted to close the upper orifice of the outer shell of the casing of the regulator and to confine within it against displacement the electrical conclue`V tors which are contained within said outer shell;

f F ig. 3 represents a fra mentary, central, sectional elevation, throng i a modified form of my inner' casing, illustrating'as applied to it and as the equivalent of the outer shell of the construction of Fig. 1, a threaded vplug cap by means of which the regulator a radial channel through which a conductor passes,

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings 1 designates an inner cylindrirl casing formed with a'basal flange 2, and secured within an outer shell 3, preferably made in two parts, an u )per part to which the nlunber 3 is applic( and a lower part 5, which are conveniently connected by screws (i. Through the lower shell 5 screws 7 pass into the basal ila-nge 2 of the inner casing 1 to support the latter concentrically within the regulator considered as an entirety.

8 designates a screw head upon the upper end of a screw which forms the upper Contact point 9, and passes centrally through the cover portion of the inner casin 1. Under its head the screw confines one o the conductors 14 against an upper brass washer 11, while a lower brass washer 12 beneaththe cover portion is retained by a nut 10 threaded upon the externally threaded portion of the screw forming the upper contact point 9. The conductors 13 and 1,4 which pass through the 'spring nut are preferably wra ped with respect to' each other, and the con uctor 14 curves downward to an electrical union with a socket 15, which in the use of the regulator with an electrical lighting system, ossesses the form of a .threaded head of a light bulb, not illustrated, into which the head is screwed. i

In its passage downward from the upper portion of the casing, this conductor 14 passes through a radial channel 35, formed either, as shown in Fig. 6, in the basal flange 2 of the inner easing 1, andi through some corresponding channel in a cup basket 4 disposed within the lower part of the outer shell 5 and resting upon ledges with which said shell is formed, as shown in Fig. 1.

Between the cup basket 4 and the socket 15 below said cup basket, and between said socket 15 and the lower drawn-in end of the outer shell 5 is an insulating shell 16, which completes the assemblage of .elements of the casing below the cup basket.

17 designates a resistance material of any preferred character, for instance, a mixture of graphite and micaor other conductor, which 1s disposed within the hollow interior of the inner casing 1, and the mass of which rests upon a piston preferably formed of two metal heads 18 comprising between them a filling 9 of the character, for instance, of an asbestos packing, which is held in place between said piston heads 18 by the compression of nuts 21 on an externally threaded iollow pistonn'od 22, which extends com- ,1 and the' cup bas permanently to the piston 18, 19, by the nuts ing wheel 29.

pletely up to above the upper of the two piston heads, and upon which intermediately of its length is lixedl mounted a brass nut or hoxin 30, which 1s fast to a rotary operating c |ain-wheel 29 peripherally grooved as at :l1 to receive a wheel chain 32 which passes out through the walls of the outer shell and is manually operated from the exterior of 'the shell as a whole, to eifect the desired rotation of the wheel.

The )istou rod 22 at its upper end and interna ly and axially of it, is rovided with a piston rod pin 23, forming tie lower contact point 20, which passes through a collar 2-1 on the base of tie cup basket 4, and downwardly through said base so as to receire and, by the action of a nut 25, clamp the spring cup basket.

27 designates a hollow, cylindric insulating bushing on the piston rod pin 23, and 28 designates a hollow, cylindric metal bushing bearing against the hollow interior of the iston rod 22.

T ieforegoing arrangement is one of more or less detail, to permit of the rotation and conse uent raising and lowerin ofthe hollow piston rod 22 under the in uence of the wheel 29, through the brass nut` 30 fixed to said wheel andgiperating to raise and lower the piston rod and lower contact point 20, to effect and to maintain'a` regulated electric contact 26 in place against the connection between said lower contact point4l piston rod 22, and the contact face 37 whichY conveniently rests u on the collar 24 upon the base of the cu basket 4.

In the detail illustrated in Fig. -1, the e nally threaded piston rod 20 extends axia ly lengthwise of both the inner casing het 4 and being fastened 21 as already explained, is, of course, compelled to move upward or downward because its external threads are engaged with the internal threads of the brass nut 30, which, as explained, is fast to the insulated operat- As a convenient connection for the mounting of the parts, the piston'rod pin 23 referred to as locked to the base of the cup basket, as. already e. lained, passes up through a hollow, cylin ric insulating bushing 27, between .and surrounding which and extending to fill the hollow, smooth interior of the piston rod 22, is a cylindric, metal bushing 28 which extends up Aalmost to the internal bottom 44, so to speak, of the piston rod and is there surmounted by an insulated bushing 40. By this means, electrical connection both with the internal bottom 44 of the piston rod, tie metal pin 23 and the brass bushing 28 is in part effected, a

-sistance material auch as asbestos mixed perforations 42 whic with cgraphite, one of which is shown detache in F1 5, and a plurality of which are embrace within the hollow interior of the easing.

To permit of the venting of the heat created when the resistance material is intensely compressed,a circular hollow metalljc box 39, Fig. 4, erforated by external register with radial outlets ,43 in the Walls of the casing to permit of the escape of the heat, is employed.

In Fig. 5, one of these disks of resistance material is, as explained, illustrated as taken out from thecasing.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a nov'el and useful' construction of a current regulatin plug and pull socket which embodies t e features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement 'of the invention and the above description, and

while I have, in' the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which will'be found in practice to give satisfactor and reliable results, it is to be understoo that the same is susceptible of moditication in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advanta es.

aving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let- 1. In a device of the character stated, a receptacle containing a resistance material and a compressing device for varying the pressure upon said material, said device emodying a piston, a hollow externally threaded piston rod, and a .rotary operating wheel internally threaded upon the iston rod to cause the elevation or depression of said piston rod and its piston in the rotation of the wheel' andmeans for cntrolling the movement of said wheel;

2. In a device of the character stated, a receptacle containing a fixed and a movable contact point, a resistance material, and a compressing device1 for var ing` the pressure upon said material, said a piston,a hollow, externally :threaded piston rod, a rotary operating Wheel internally threaded upon the piston rod to cause the elevation or depression of said piston rod and its piston in the rotation of the Wheel, and means for controlling the movement of Isaid wheel.

3. In a device of the class recited, an inclosing shell or outer casing, a resistance maevie embodyingwhich device comprises a piston, a piston rod, a wheel operative from the exterior of the casing to elevate or depress the ,piston rod and piston, and electric conductors entering the outer shell through the spring nut, the terminals of which conductors are respectively connected with the fixed and the movable contact points to complete the circuit.

5. In a current regulating plug and tool socket, the following elements in combination an outer shell, an inner casing, a cup basket, piston Within said inner casing, a vertically movable piston rod extending into both the casing and the cup basket, an operating Wheel for occasioning the vertical movement of said piston rod in either direction, means for occasioning the rotation of said Wheel, a fixed contact point within the inner casing, a contact point movable with the piston, electric connections between said contactfpoints, a socket within the outer shell, and a spring contact within said socket for effecting electrical connection with a lamp or other device to which the regulator is to be applied.

6. A current-regulating plug and tool socket., which comprises an external shell, an internal casing formed with a radially extending basal flange connected with the external shell, a cup basket or bast-below saidinternal casing and supported by the external shell, an operating wheel supported for rotation between said internal casing and said cup basket and formed with an internallythreaded axial aperture` a. lpiston Within the internal casing externally' threaded to pass through the threaded aperture of the wheel, means for operating the wheel from the exterior of the device, a resistance material in the internal easing, a contact point fixed'within said internal casing, a contact point upon the piston, electrical connections between said contact points, and means for connecting the device as an entirety with a carrying support endalso with a lamp or device to be operated by it.

7. In a device of the character stated, in combination with an internal casingr containing a resistance material and me'ans for effecting the compression of said material,

evice embodying a piston, a hollow externally shell or casing adapted to Ht within and be threaded piston rod, and a rotary operating connected with a support for the device ns wheel internally threaded upon the piston an entirety.

rod to cause the elevation or de resslon -of ANTONIO PAPINI. said piston rod and its piston in t 1e rotation Witnesses: of the wheel, means for controlling the JOHN A. VVIEDERSHEIM,

movement of said Wheel, andan external N. BUssINGER. 

